The Adventure
by Houdini124
Summary: Kirby and his miniboss friend Mr. Tick-Tock enjoy a nice day in the mountain range of Candy Mountain and Food Mountain. What happens when King Dedede gets involved?
1. The Dance

It was a pleasant day on Candy Mountain when Kirby finished beating the last few Waddle Dees and assorted ability providers, bringing along his friend Mr. Tick-Tock.

Kirby and Mr. Tick-Tock had finally made it all the way to the top and, the former eager to practice his favorite form of exercise besides running around and eating everything in sight; dancing.

Kirby started feet apart and paws outspread as if in an embrace while Mr. Tick-Tock sat down on a big red rock.

Kirby tucked his paws against his side and jumped to the right, then quickly shot an invisible air bullet to propel him back to the left, then did the same on the opposite side.

Kirby flattened himself down to half his size with his paws on his head and hopped left to right while tilting his body in different directions.

Kirby rolled back and forth, did flips twenty feet in the air, and flew in a figure eight.

Kirby finished by moon walking slowly to his starting point, slide kicking to the right, then the left, then flipping and landing on his feet in his signature pose; left arm extended to the Comet Nova and right heel in the ground toward Cocoa Caverns.

Mr. Tick-Tock stood up and clapped and showed Kirby how long his routine took. Mr. Tick-Tock's face showed four seconds, a personal record for Kirby.

Kirby's face lit up and he and Mr. Tick-Tock both flew to Food Mountain to celebrate, Kirby flying normally and Mr. Tick-Tock summoning hovering music notes that one could ride on.

Only good hearted Tick-Tocks have the ability to fly, as evil Tick-Tocks' notes are too sour and flimsy to lounge on.

At Food Mountain as Kirby and Mr. Tick-Tock landed, they both spied patches of their favorite foods laying around on the plate-like plateau, and immediately rushed to them, enjoying their friendship and talents, whether it be music or dancing.


	2. The Race

The Race

Kirby and Mr. Tick-Tock had filled themselves up with tasty pastries and delicious dairy ice cream and were laying on a rock in the sun.

The friends were dozing after a meal on the top of Food Mountain when they were aroused from their drowsy state by a rustling in the onigiri stalks.

Because onigiri grows on stalks.

Anyway, a rustling aroused our heroes from their sleepy state, and who should emerge but King Dedede himself, carrying with him a big attitude and a big hammer almost as big as his ego. King Dedede saw the two then laughed heartily and sneered, "Well, lookie here who it is, it's my buddy, Mr. Tick-Tock. Now what're you doin' with this pinkie, here? He's not worth a second of your time."

With that the king lunged and whacked Kirby off the rock with his hammer. Roughly landing on the ground, Kirby shot Dedede a "What was that for?!" look. The king only laughed and boasted, "I have been training up back at my castle to challenge you to a race. The Gourmet Race is its name."

Kirby stood up, dusted himself off, and extended a paw to shake. The king and the ponyan shook hands. "If it crossed your tiny 'lil mind, the rules are simple. There are three races, Pumpkin Grand, Corn Hall, and Onion will be judged on how much food you eat. Each piece of food is worth one point to your final score, while a Maxim Tomato is worth three. You earn twenty points if you cross the finish line in first place, none if you come in second. Mr. Tick-Tock will keep track of our scores, won't you?"

Mr. Tick-Tock rolled his eyes but shrugged and nodded.

"Good! I knew my old friend was still loyal to me." King Dedede hissed with sarcasm dripping off his voice like chemicals off a stalactite in Cocoa Cavern.

"Let's go." King Dedede turned on his heel and started leading the way to Pumpkin Grand.

Pumpkin Grand was in the middle of a pumpkin field with star blocks and puddles of water scattered about. Every few feet, a food item would lay, waiting to be eaten by the gourmets ready to race.

A plump, red Maxim Tomato hung, suspended in the air above the finish line, ready to be devoured.

Kirby licked his lips, and the Waddle Dee that had been standing by the starting line shot off a firecracker which made the racers lurch forward.

At first, King Dedede was in the lead, but a look of surprise came over his face when his opponent passed him, snatching the hamburger the king was about to eat from the ground in front of him.

This got King Dedede mad. As Kirby was about to ram into a wall of star blocks, King Dedede took out his rage on them, allowing Kirby to get past that obstacle easily, while it just slowed King Dedede down.

Kirby plowed for the finish line and King Dedede charged at him, but when King Dedede finally caught up to him, Kirby was already in the air snarfing down the Maxim Tomato.

Mr. Tick-Tock rang, and his face showed the time that race took was thirty four seconds and fifteen milliseconds.

When King Dedede had his back turned, Kirby blew a raspberry at him, and Mr. Tick-Tock chuckled, causing King Dedede to turn around, making Mr. Tick-Tock and Kirby stone faced.

The trio then went to Corn Hall, Kirby confident he could outmatch the overweight king as he had already beat him once, and King Dedede himself somewhat regretting challenging Kirby to the Gourmet Race.

The two gourmets took their mark, and the Waddle Dee shot off the firecracker once again and the two were off, quick as Fire Kirby's Meteor attack!

Corn Hall, as it first appeared, was a flat plain with food littered about seemingly haphazardy. Then, a sharp downward slope leading into a cave. Kirby was in the lead until the slope, when he spotted a Maxim Tomato growing from the ceiling, so he jumped to grab it, giving King Dedede a chance to slide underneath.

Kirby gasped, and angled his fall so he was falling three feet above the slope rather than running on it.

Anyone looking at the scene as Kirby plummeted toward King Dedede would have thought the scene would have looked more appropriate had it been Hi-Jump Kirby, with his bright blue and red cape flapping.

Kirby rammed into King Dedede, making the competitive king fall on his face into a banana cream pie, giving him a point, but getting lost momentum back a problem (as well as looking funny).

Kirby, on the other hand, used the king as a spring and scored a top-most path without the aid of flying, and there was at least three times more food where Kirby was now than in the king's position.

The paths merged together, and the adversaries were forced to run through a narrow tunnel with ledges too high to jump normally, forcing flying.

At the end of the tunnel was a much more open area with a view of the overworld, again the paths split, and both the competitors took the ladder, King Dedede flew up the narrow passage while Kirby climbed the ladder.

From this path, it split again, the top path again having more food, but King Dedede ran the bottom path, with Kirby the top. Kirby had more food, but King Dedede thought he himself was in the lead.

How wrong he was.

The paths merged again and Kirby was dropped off about five feet in front of King Dedede.

King Dedede was gaining fairly fast, but for not as the finish line came into view and Kirby snatched the finish Maxim Tomato.

Mr. Tick-Tock, who actually had to follow this time, rang with forty seven seconds, fifty nine milliseconds.

After a short rest, King Dedede led the way to Onion Garden. On the way over, under the shade of a bobble tree, the king called Mr. Tick-Tock over.

"Now, I don't see why you're with that Kirby character," King Dedede muttered, "But you were once my soldier. You were one of the few I sent to help defeat Kirby. Why are you siding with him now?"

Mr. Tick-Tock summoned his flying musical notes, the sweet notes that create a soothing melody only kind-hearted Mr. Tick-Tocks can make.

The king gasped, "Oh, no. No. You're not faking it. How dare you?! I was your leader, your king. How could you turn on me?"

Mr. Tick-Tock shrugged and walked away.

"Hey! I'm not done with you, buddy boy!" King Dedede called after him.

Kirby was already at the starting line by the time King Dedede lumbered over.

The Waddle Dee popped the firecracker and away they went! Kirby seemed to be in the lead except for the first drop-off where King Dedede made it to the bottom first, but Kirby swam, ducked, ran and flew all the way to the finish without seeing hide or tail of the king. Kirby waited, but King Dedede never caught up. Nor did Mr. Tick-Tock appear to give him his time and final score.

Just as Kirby thought he should go looking for them, King Dedede's blimp, which had his face on it, took flight in the sky above, headed straight for Mt. Dedede. Small pillows on his pendulum and hands bound, was Mr. Tick-Tock, jumping up and down.

Kirby summoned his warpstar and gave chase.


	3. The Airship

King Dedede's blimp was going rather slow, and Kirby was gaining rather fast. Kirby knew he would catch up to the blimp in time, but the king had other plans.

A glass dome was put up over the basket of the hot air balloon, similar to how the dome rises on Kirby's starship.

Mr. Tick-Tock glanced around wildly. Neither he nor Kirby knew what was happening.

Four iron, pointed, cylindrical objects pushed their way out of the back and front of the hot air balloon's basket. There was one open end with metal inside in some form of pattern.

Finally, the balloon snapped off the basket and the four iron rockets started up, and the basket zoomed toward the castle before Kirby could reach his friend.

The basket made it to Castle Dedede first, and entered through a skylight in the throne room. King Dedede called in twenty of his Waddle Dee guards and ten of them carried Mr. Tick-Tock to the dungeon. The remaining Waddle Dees were hastily ordered to start up the castle's main defense, the airship Kabula.

Kirby was nearing the castle, and was closer to rescuing his friend when a giant face with a sinister smile and malevolent eyes appeared in front of him, then proceeded to shoot cannonballs at the poor puff. A cannonball found its mark and knocked Kirby out of the sky.

At that moment, Kirby wished for nothing more than to be saved. Suddenly, stars the colors of the rainbow circled around Kirby, then rushed at him. The stars' light dissipated until Kirby could be seen riding the Star Chariot! The Galactic Nova was still partially alive despite the beating given to it, as its parts and pieces still floated around, and it remembered Kirby never got his wish, as someone intercepted and stole it. The Galactic Nova stayed true to the legends, and granted Kirby's wish to be saved from falling by granting him the Star Chariot!

Kirby laughed and drove his chariot back up to Kabula. He could never get inside the castle if he had a seemingly living airship shooting at him!

Kabula had been heading back up to the castle, threat being dealt with, when she heard a strange whizzing behind her. Kabula turned back to see Kirby on a chariot made of clouds, stars and ribbons. She immediately started firing at Kirby, who dodged and fired a row of stars right at Kabula's pink front.

Kabula seemed slightly fazed by the sparkling barrage but kept on plowing on with more cannonballs. One ill timed cannonball crashed into the star crest on the front of Kirby's Star Chariot, causing a small crack to form.

That distracted Kirby enough to stop firing momentarily and glance down at the star crest, giving Kabula a chance to break out a new form of ammunition.

Kirby looked up just in time to see a huge Gordo flying straight for his Star Chariot, and dodged just before it hit. Kabula was now firing a mix of precise cannonballs and fast Gordos.

Kirby had to put more effort into defense than offense, as there was barely any moving space, but luckily one hit from a star made a cannonball explode in midair, something Kirby used to his advantage, but sadly tried it on a Gordo. The Gordo didn't explode but kept plowing straight for the star crest, and it hit, causing a bigger crack to form.

Kabula still wasn't done, however, as she stopped firing momentarily and gave herself more altitude and opened up her tip to reveal an even bigger cannon. That cannon fired a huge bullet the size of Kabula herself that was black with white arms. The bullet even had Kabula's face on it.

Kirby dodged the first bullet, and the second, as well as the third, each of which were a bit lower than the other, but was caught off guard as an unexpected fourth bullet followed the path of the second bullet, which was unfortunately, where Kirby was right then.

The bullet shattered upon hitting the star crest, but managed to put a major crack in it. The star crest now had multiple fractures extending outward, and a few more cannonballs would do Kirby in.

As Kirby recovered from the blow, which had shaken the chariot almost to the point where Kirby would have fallen off, Kabula aimed a Gordo and the Gordo found its mark, almost breaking the Star Chariot into pieces.

The Waddle Dee in Kabula's "control room", which was nothing more than a room with microphones connected to Kabula's radio, yelled into a microphone, "I have an idea! Do a barrel roll!"

Back in the skies, in the battle above Mt. Dedede, Kabula heard something come in on her radio. She might have to remember to thank those Waddle Dees after she won this fight, although Kabula was broken and almost defeated, she had to be in better shape than that puffy pink ponyan.

Kabula backed off, and Kirby took it as a retreat, taking a moment to breathe. Kabula started spinning in place, and Kirby thought he made her malfunction. Kabula rushed at Kirby full force, and Kirby started shooting his stars again, but Kabula hit him at the same time he shot, and the sheer closeness of the stars made Kabula cave in on herself, catching on fire as her inner mechanisms overheated, making the ammunition tank explode and shoot all its contents into the sky.

Yet Kabula went down with a smile, not being able to do anything different and knowing she had sacrificed herself in saving her king.

One of the cannonballs from the ammunition tank hit the star crest on Kirby's Star Chariot, and it shattered, taking down with it the ribbons and causing the cloud Kirby sat on evaporate.

Kirby screamed, wanting the Galactic Nova to grant another wish to be saved by another Star Chariot, but instead, something unexpected caught him.

Meta Knight had seen the warpstar land, and took it to the nearest Kabu to hospitalize it. Meta Knight had been watching the fight, and had seen Kabula defeated.

Meta Knight caught Kirby in midair by use of his wings, and Kirby thanked him with a "Poyo!"

Meta Knight nodded and flew toward the castle. This was not his fight, but it only seemed right to help Kirby reclaim his friend.

As Meta Knight and Kirby spiraled up the mountain, one of the hidden cameras saw them.

The Waddle Dee in the surveillance room screamed into his walkie-talkie, "Sire! The Pink Terror defeated Kabula and he and his friend Batman are coming! And fast!" The king's voice came over the walkie-talkie, "What?!" There was a small beep and King Dedede's voice was relayed to all the Waddle Dees in the castle, "Waddle Dees! Kirby and Meta Knight are coming up the mountain! Defend the castle at all costs! Protect the dungeon!"

Meta Knight dropped Kirby off on the wall of the castle, as well as two sparking wires. Kirby inhaled both of the wires and flashed white before he transformed into what Meta Knight knew he would: Hammer Kirby!

Kirby, with his new ability, glanced back at Meta Knight fading away in the distance and jumped off the wall, ready to do whatever it took to get his friend back.


	4. The Castle

Hammer Kirby landed skillfully on his feet and looked around. There were trembling Waddle Dees holding spears and the occasional Simirror or Waddle Doo with their powers charging or wands ready respectively.

Kirby made a little grunt. That was his competition? Piece of shortcake.

One brave Waddle Dee rushed Kirby, but was met by a flaming hammer to the face.

Kirby had used his most powerful attack, the Hammer Flip, right at the beginning.

The mob tensed, and a Simirror used its telepathy powers to communicate with the crowd.

"On my mark, charge."

Kirby started running at them full speed.

"Charge!"

The entire mob slammed into Kirby at once, but just before contact, Kirby jumped, and was able to do his running jump Hammer ability; Ultra Hammer Spin.

All the enemies that had once been attempting to attack Kirby were destroyed in an instant, the only survivors being a few tough Simirrors.

Kirby landed and saw his last targets, which he dealt with quickly using his regular dash; Hammer Swing.

Kirby dashed through an archway and saw many Waddle Dees, Waddle Doos, Simirrors, and now a few Wheelie mini bosses and Wheelies alike.

Kirby dashed through them all, occasionally using Hammer Swing but mainly just trying to reach the king.

Meanwhile, pacing in his throne room, the king had a wicked idea. King Dedede sat on his swivel chair-like throne and peeled back a covering concealing about six or seven white buttons. King Dedede pushed the biggest button on his control pad and the lights of the throne room went dark as a secret trapdoor was removed from the middle of the room and the ceiling. From these trapdoors sprung a huge device. Two more trapdoors opened on either side of the throne, and a friendly face popped up.

"Well hello, Your Majesty in all his greatness," Customer Service greeted, "What may I do for you today?"

"Send me something that turns nice guys bad. I have an ally in my dungeon who turned on me… He was too powerful to lose."

"Of course! Right away! That will be one thousand deden."

The king's jaw dropped. "But I just saw that in the catalogue yesterday! It was only two hundred deden then!"

"That was an old catalogue. The prices change, Sire."

"Fine! You'll get the deden, I just need the stuff!"

"Alright…" Customer Service pressed a button on his control panel and the strange machine in the middle of the room glowed eerily.

A small bottle appeared, and the king took it with a dark chuckle before he sprinted down a safe hall to the dungeon.

Back with Kirby, almost a quarter of Castle Dedede's defensive units have been defeated within around fifteen minutes.

Things were not looking up for the king.

Kirby was almost at the halfway mark to the middle of the castle where he presumed the king would be when he entered a room even his Crash ability couldn't help him with.

In the room were spikes lining the walls and ceiling and floor. The floor and ceiling had indentations and mounds making maneuvering more challenging, as the only way to get past was to fly.

The spiky surfaces weren't even the biggest threat the room had to offer.

Jolting up and down like it was a bounce house were Gordos. On the ceiling were Ticks, smiling and anticipating, and on the floor crawled tens of Needlice.

Kirby was worried. One hit from anything but a Needlouse would force him to drop his ability.

Kirby started to plan his route carefully, and was about to go for it when a red and white lollipop with a star on the corner fell into his mouth. Kirby got a massive sugar rush, and immediately dashed forward on the spikes, instantly defeating all the Needlice in his path.

Gluttony is the answer for everything, is it not?

Kirby's invincibility streak almost lasted him until the end of the room, but his foot snagged on a spike and his Hammer ability fell below a Tick, whose face filled with malice as it impaled the ability. The Ticks were too high to inhale and too far in the middle of the room, so Kirby moved on.

In the next room was a T.A.C. guarding the place where Kirby walked out of, and it tried to grab him, but Kirby reacted too quickly and the T.A.C. felt almost as if its arm was about to fall off, so it succumbed to the swirling vortex that was Kirby's mouth.

Kirby gained his Copy Copy Ability, which he immediately discarded by making another T.A.C.

"Take And Copy, ready to react!" The new Helper yelled confidently.

Kirby glared into the room he was about to go through. Kirby immediately felt bad for his T.A.C., because not only did his species' name be an acronym for "Take And Copy", it was also "Cat" spelled backwards.

This new room was a column of water, as it was flowing from the ceiling into a pit, there was no choice but to get a bit wet.

Kirby looked back sympathetically at his T.A.C. and dashed up to the water and jumped in.

Kirby's T.A.C. did the same, albeit hesitantly.

Kirby rushed through the door at the other end of the room with his T.A.C. following closely.

The next room was filled with Bonkers, Simirrors, Parasol Waddle Dees, Walkies, and Plasma Wisps.

Kirby found the nearest Walkie and inhaled it, while his T.A.C. copied a Simirror and gained the appearance of the latter in an instant. Kirby now had a magician friend to help.

Kirby used his first Microphone charge, Megaphone, and all the Walkies, Parasol Waddle Dees and Plasma Wisps in the room met a swift end. Kirby used his second charge, Desk Microphone, and all the Simirrors were blasted out of existence. Kirby used his last charge, what would generally be known as Standing Microphone, had he not stood his ground longer, slowly nodding his head faster to the currency he wanted his final attack to be, one thought to be a myth, but was about to take place.

Kirby lowered his voice and performed an Encore, shrieking "DEATH ALL!" into his Standing Microphone. Kirby's Microphone ability left him, and he inhaled a defeated Bonkers laying on the ground from the sheer volume and quality of Kirby's "singing".

Kirby regained Hammer, unknowing that one especially tough Bonkers was still alive murmuring into his walkie-talkie.

"He WHAT?!" King Dedede screamed after hearing that Kirby had wiped out an entire room without a scratch on himself.

Kirby heard the scream come in through the radio and saw a Bonkers faking defeat. The Bonkers didn't realize this however and continued to soothe into the walkie-talkie until a konk on the head defeated him for real.

King Dedede yelled to his loyal servant, Bandana Dee, and asked him what he should do to defeat Kirby. He was only two rooms away, after all.

"Well, Sire, you could take him yourself. You did order that Dedede hammer from the Nightmare Corporation."

"I could do that or I could send you out to defeat him! I'll bet he's tired after sacrificing my servants."

Bandana Dee's eyes widened.

"S-Sire, this is the Pink Terror we're talking about here. His stamina is endless, his vigor unquenched by anything one could throw at him."

"Oh, yeah? Well I'm the king here and I'm commanding you to go try."

Bandana Dee bowed. "As you wish, Your Majesty."

Kirby rushed into the next room and puffed himself up to avoid falling into the pit that lay before the door, his Simirror Air Jumping close behind. Kirby landed on the platform and entered the next room easily.

The next room was void of everything but the walls, ceiling, floor and Bandana Dee.

"Kirby, I challenge you to-"

Kirby had walked to Bandana Dee and used his Triple Hammer to smash him flat without the slightest "Poyo".

Meanwhile, King Dedede had found the last piece of his Dedede Hammer set and awaited Kirby in the adjoining room…

Kirby and his Simirror exited and found themselves in an electrified cage. There was a Copy Essence of Hammer in the middle of the cage, and as Kirby already had Hammer, his Simirror ran up and grabbed it, becoming a Bonkers.

"This will be the last time you face me, puny Star Warrior. You will never have your friend back…" With that, King Dedede himself jumped into the cage and the battle begun…

Even though it was already lost…


	5. The King

King Dedede lashed out with a fury he hadn't known he possessed. He was generally a peaceful king, if not a bit misguided, but he understood one thing for sure. Loyalty.

All King Dedede thought about as he launched missile after bright missile at Kirby was Mr. Tick-Tock, how effective a soldier he had been, and how the alarm clock had foolishly abandoned King Dedede for his worst nemesis, Kirby.

Bonkers jumped up and over King Dedede and his missiles in an Ultra Hammer Spin, the attack hit twice due to the speed of the Ultra Hammer Spin compared to the regular Hammer Spin, and King Dedede's anger grew immensely.

Now Kirby had Bonkers on his side? That did it for him.

King Dedede pressed a button on the Dedede Hammer and pounded it to the ground, and a shockwave of electricity rushed at Kirby, who just barely jumped out of the way.

The king didn't want to attack Bonkers, but he mustn't show weakness to him. More rather, he would focus on Kirby and Kirby alone, occasionally swiping at Bonkers, but not enough to defeat him. Just enough so Bonkers would be too weak to fight back when he put him through what he put Mr. Tick-Tock through.

King Dedede thought during his shockwave attack, and forgot about Bonkers, who had been behind him since after Bonkers performed the Ultra Hammer Spin. Bonkers went all out on his second attack, a Hammer Flip to King Dedede's shoulder, which made the scatterbrained king lurch forward flat on the face of his mask, directly into the path of Kirby, who had started dashing in preparation of a Hammer Swing.

Kirby was startled a bit at King Dedede so close to him faster than expected, and out of reflex, Kirby used Hammer Spin a fraction too early.

Kirby felt his momentum slow down the before he made it out of the way of King Dedede, and had to withdraw his hammer before he fell.

Unfortunately, King Dedede's shoulder was still smoldering from Bonkers' Hammer Flip, and Kirby got slightly burned from the white hot fabric.

King Dedede got up, triumphant thoughts going through his head as he prepared a Hammer Swing of his own.

King Dedede got ready to start swinging his hammer, wincing almost unnoticeably as his injured shoulder got used in an unnatural way by swinging both arms behind his torso, like one would swing a baseball bat.

The king took a step forward as he swung the hammer, the sheer mass and speed being enough to move even a big lug like him in a three hundred sixty degree circle multiple times.

Kirby and Bonkers floated and air-jumped respectively out of the way of the hammer toting penguin, but Bonkers jumped one more time than he should have and got electrocuted by the ceiling of the cage. Bonkers felt the electricity arc through his heavy purple armor, starting at the head, and he lost the ability to air-jump as the electricity coursed through his body rendering him immobile.

Bonkers landed on the floor, knocked unconscious by the amount of electricity that just raced through his bones, his blood carrying the electricity further.

King Dedede had sped up his Hammer Swing a few moments before Bonkers hit the ground by use of the built-in rockets, and didn't know Bonkers was there as he was swirling around the arena so fast.

The king stopped his Hammer Swing and let his foot down off the side of his other foot (He didn't like to use his Hammer Swing because of the way his feet were positioned, it made him feel like a ballerina), and was greeted with a leftover charge of electricity that still remained in Bonkers.

King Dedede took the damage he would have had he been electrocuted by the cage itself, and he was already dizzy from spinning around the arena sixty times in a row, so King Dedede was so disoriented he almost fell over trying to figure out what was happening around him and what he was standing on. Meanwhile, Kirby delivered the crushing blow of three Hammer Flips in a row, a new record!

Kirby had never seen something so fatigued as to hold complete stillness for that long, around fifteen seconds!

King Dedede, on the other hand, felt strange for another reason. Kirby, being the optimistic, joyous delight he is, managed to befriend one meant to be his enemy since birth, Mr. Tick-Tock. Kirby also collected some of King Dedede's weaker soldiers, like the T.A.C. and Simirror, and Bonkers, too, and managed to have them all on his side. King Dedede simply didn't see any way he could beat this indestructible ponyan, it was impossible! King Dedede's aggression from the start of the battle melted away as he realized there was no way on Popstar he would be able to defeat the Pink Terror if it concerned someone he believes truly good, and a close friend at that.

King Dedede closed his eyes as Kirby landed another blow. He couldn't do it. His plans were all wrecked because the naïve king had once again underestimated Kirby. No. It wasn't going out like that!

King Dedede wrenched open his eyes and forced himself to stand and fight for his soldiers, his friends. His family.

Kirby looked into the eyes of the transformed king. They seemed different, and more determined with an angry passion than Kirby had ever seen the before.

"Kirby!" The king bellowed, "You will be defeated and you will join me, whether you want to or not!"

Kirby tilted his head questionably. Kirby thought that was all the king had to offer.

Without warning, King Dedede performed a Dedede Jump, the cotton ball at the top of his crown almost hitting the electrocuted ceiling.

King Dedede landed hard on Kirby, so hard that Kirby though he would be squashed. King Dedede hopped off the almost flattened Kirby and jumped on him again, and again, the last time being with a mean Hammer Twirl that not only drove into Kirby's skin, but was electrocuted, spewing flames and firing missiles into the air so that when King Dedede finally stopped the Hammer Twirl and ran off for another bout of Hammer Swing, the missiles dove at Kirby and exploded, knocking the battered and semi-beaten Kirby into the wall of the cage which was still racing with electricity.

Bonkers still laid helpless on the floor, too beaten with the ceiling and King Dedede stomping on him with all his weight to really do anything but watch with terrified eyes as King Dedede started spinning in a Hammer Swing toward Kirby.

A part of King Dedede called out to him from deep inside his heart, "Dedede, what are you doing? Do you not see what Kirby is trying to accomplish? All he wanted was a friend, and you have many to spare. Do you not think it was fair for Kirby to have a companion? Mr. Tick-Tock had his own will, and you took that away from him so you would have a soldier fighting for a lost cause. Do what you know is right in your heart, Dedede…" King Dedede pondered upon what his heart had said, and for a moment, as he twirled around ever faster, wondered if he should ask Customer Service for the antidote to the Demon Serum.

No. He had had enough of this pink puff constantly getting in the way of his plans, of everything he had. King Dedede spun faster than he thought his body could accomplish by means of using both the built-in rocket and the flame thrower as speed boosts, and he closed in on the facedown Kirby.

Kirby struggled to lift his head off the ground, and saw King Dedede using his most powerful Hammer Swing yet.

Time slowed down for the young ponyan.

Kirby forced himself to his feet and did a Hammer Spin of his own, releasing the hammer midspin where it flew the remaining four feet into the masked face of the king and exploded.

Kirby had dealt the finishing blow using the most powerful attack in his arsenal at that moment, Hammer Throw.

King Dedede was blown back into the small portion of the wall that was safe to touch, all the way on the other side of the arena. He slid to the ground as his mask split down the middle, the Dedede Hammer falling out of his grasp near Bonkers, who was starting to stir.

Kirby crept up to the defeated king. King Dedede looked at Kirby, eyes full of sorrow. "I'm sorry, Kirby. All you needed was a friend. He's in the dungeon. Be careful, keep a hammer."

King Dedede did something he hadn't done in a long time. The once-proud king shed a single tear and shuddered as his body faded into unconsciousness, his head lolling to the side and body slumping against the wall.

Kirby stared at the still, but semi-alive form of the king who had tried to defeat him for as long as he could remember. King Dedede… Just apologized? For being mean? Kirby felt guilty. He had almost done what King Dedede wanted to do to him not a half hour ago.

Kirby looked around the lifeless arena and saw Bonkers trying to get up. He also saw the Dedede Hammer laying next to Bonkers.

Kirby tried to break the wall with his hammer, but forgot he got rid of it when he almost killed King Dedede. Kirby went back over to Bonkers and commanded him to lay down with his eyes and paws. Bonkers somewhat hesitantly obliged, and Kirby took the heavy Dedede Hammer in his surprisingly strong paws and stuck it in the ground.

Kirby located the button used to shoot the missiles and shot them at the cage wall, blowing it up quickly. Kirby ran out of the arena as fast as he could to the nearest place he could find a Maxim Tomato, the kitchen. All through the hallways, King Dedede's soldiers ran away from Kirby rather than attack, for they knew the Pink Terror had more than likely overpowered their king, considering he was up and about. The whole time during Kirby's dash, every time a Waddle Dee or Sasuke ran away from him, Kirby felt a pang of guilt in his chest. He caused fear and paranoia to these innocent creatures with no other place to stay. Kirby partially saw the kitchen through slightly blurry eyes.

Kirby burst through the doors to the kitchen and dashed to the fridge. Inside the fridge were the usual, popsicles, milk, water, oranges, mints, Kirby saw two Chillies sitting near to each other in a corner of the fridge, looking at him with terrified eyes, but Kirby ignored the couple and rushed to the crate they were sitting next to and pulled out three Maxim Tomatoes.

Kirby also ate one of the mints on the shelf of the fridge, knowing that he would puff up and be able to fly faster than Kabula herself.

Kirby breezed through the halls faster than he would have had he been on a sugar high. Any Comos that were hanging on the ceiling immediately either dropped to the floor or crawled down the wall to get away from Kirby.

Kirby made it back to the arena room after what seemed like forever. Kirby climbed the arena wall and went though the hole he had made with King Dedede's Dedede Hammer. Kirby ate a Maxim Tomato and went to work on the other two.

First Kirby treated Bonkers, as he had been knocked out earlier in the epic battle than King Dedede. Kirby opened his Helper's mouth enough to make the revitalizing fruit enter, then made Bonkers chew. The moment the Maxim Tomato's juices seeped down Bonkers' throat and were absorbed by his tongue, Bonkers' eyes flickered open under his purple visor and he got up, with Kirby's help.

Bonkers looked around for a second before seeing King Dedede slumped in a heap in the corner. Bonkers advanced on King Dedede and was about to use a final, finishing Hammer attack when Kirby jumped in front of Bonkers, paws in the air and shaking his head.

Bonkers was confused. Didn't Kirby have the same goal as he did? Bonkers grunted, raised his hammer again, and pointed at King Dedede. Kirby shook his head and showed Bonkers the Maxim Tomato. Kirby gestured for Bonkers to stay where he was as he turned around and walked toward King Dedede.

Kirby stood as high as he could on his toes, but couldn't quite reach King Dedede's face, so he carefully climbed up on the king's stomach. Kirby opened King Dedede's mouth the same way he opened Bonkers' mouth and set the Maxim Tomato in, and proceeded to make King Dedede chew.

King Dedede's eyes opened much slower than Bonkers' did, but closed. This must be a dream, King Dedede couldn't still be alive, could he?

Kirby grew worried. Maxim Tomatoes were a sure way to get instant recovery, why wasn't it working on King Dedede? Kirby whimpered quietly and lightly shook King Dedede's shoulders to get some form of reaction.

No response.

King Dedede groaned mentally. He understood. He did die, only he went to the Underworld for eternal punishment. King Dedede could only imagine what kind of tortures he would endure.

Kirby backed away from King Dedede and ran to Bonkers and buried his face in his side. Kirby started to cry violently, heaving sobs that tore the breath from his body. A few curious onlookers, mainly composed of Waddle Dees, gathered at the door of the arena to see what the Pink Terror of all people was crying over. Bonkers patted Kirby's head, not sure what else to do.

Oh. That was the punishment King Dedede would have to endure. Having to hear that poor pink ponyan crying was one of the saddest things the king had ever heard from the optimistic little guy. So sad that he had caused this, King Dedede shut his eyes tighter and began to uncharacteristically sob, wrapping his arms around his feet and hugging them to himself for comfort.

Kirby heard sobbing from another person in the room, and brought his face out of Bonkers' side to look at his Helper, who appeared to have and expression of awe written on his face under the helmet, not sadness. Kirby looked at King Dedede and saw he was the one crying- King Dedede was alive!

Kirby heard a sharp intake of breath from the entrance of the room when he rushed across the arena and jumped onto King Dedede, hugging him.

King Dedede gasped when he felt something wet land on top of him. The king opened his eyes and saw Kirby sobbing into his chest. "Kirby..? Did I kill you too? What did you do to get to a place like this?"

Then King Dedede glanced up from Kirby and looked around. He saw Bonkers staring at him, and his army rushing through the doors, up the wall, past Bonkers, surrounding him with his friends that he had tried so hard to protect. "I'm alive? But how?" King Dedede babbled, "I don't even feel hurt! Kirby, did you revive me?"

Kirby nodded and got off King Dedede slowly, pawing at his red eyes.

King Dedede jumped up and yelled to the sky.

"Thank you so much, Kirby! How could I ever repay you?"

Kirby tried to form a full sentence with his mouth, but couldn't quite do it, so he just picked up a Walkie from the mob and whispered into it.

The Walkie waited for a moment, then translated, "I want to have Mr. Tick-Tock back. He was my only friend that I could really spend time with."

King Dedede's face fell. "Oh, yeah… Mr. Tick-Tock. I'll have to see what I can do about him."

Kirby whispered into the Walkie again. "What do you mean, 'You'll have to see'? What happened?"

King Dedede didn't respond directly, which troubled Kirby, "Follow me."

Kirby set the Walkie down and followed King Dedede through the crowd, which moved away as King Dedede walked on.

Soon, Kirby, King Dedede, and a still wary Bonkers made it to the throne room, where King Dedede sat himself on his throne and pushed a button. The lights dimmed, and Customer Service's ever-smiling face appeared on the screen after the teleporter rose out of the floor. "Yo, CS. I need you to send me the antidote for the Demon Serum you sent me earlier."

Customer Service laughed, "Oh, I would love to, Big D, but sadly, there isn't one in existence."

"WHAT?!"

"POYO?!"

"Well, can't you just make one now?" King Dedede asked, regaining his cool.

"Sorry, D-Man. To do that, I'd have to have the serum, but you bought the last one."

"Can't I just go get it and send it to you?"

"Sure. But I hope you didn't leave it somewhere near who you used it on. They might break it, and you would never be able to get the antidote."

"Okay! Sounds easy enough!" King Dedede claimed as he rose from his throne to go back to the dungeon.

Suddenly, the door he was about to go through exploded, blasting King Dedede back behind his throne.

Once the dust and rubble cleared from the doorway, Kirby stared, mortified at who it was who had broken it.

It was Mr. Tick-Tock.


	6. The Antidote

Customer Service fanned the air around him on-screen, even though he hadn't been affected by the blast as he was over ten light-years away at the time. "Well, it looks like it's my time to go, I have another call coming in," Customer Service lied through his smirk, "Be careful what you do, 3D." Customer Service's laugh echoed through the throne room even after the screens had folded into the walls.

Kirby's lip quivered as his old friend stomped slowly into the room.

Mr. Tick-Tock had changed. Mr. Tick-Tock's face was gray, and his body was dark blue, the same blue as Meta Knight's skin. Mr. Tick-Tock's bells were the same storm cloud gray as his face, and his feet were orange. Mr. Tick-Tock's gloves were tinted orange as well, the darkest shade of orange being where his knuckles would have been.

Mr. Tick-Tock stopped his advance into the room once inside the doors and glanced around with his eyes, surveying the layout skeptically. Mr. Tick-Tock's scowling eyes rested on Kirby, who had a hand over his mouth to stop it from quivering so much and had also stepped back a bit.

Mr. Tick-Tock's eyes glowed red for a moment before turning orange, the same color as his feet. Mr. Tick-Tock stomped the ground with one foot and an invisible shockwave of pure sound energy hurtled toward Kirby full force, knocking him off his feet high into the air, where Mr. Tick-Tock shot an ill-sounding music note that exploded the way a Bomber would once it made contact with Kirby's body.

"Oh. Oh. My. G-Gordo," King Dedede muttered when Kirby hit the ground, unconscious.

Mr. Tick-Tock turned away from his old friend and looked straight at King Dedede.

King Dedede tensed as Mr. Tick-Tock lumbered toward him, too terrified to move.

Mr. Tick-Tock stopped three feet away from King Dedede, looked at him for a moment, then bowed by flipping his right foot upside down with the toes pointing backwards. "The Pink Terror has been defeated, Great King Dedede. What service may you wish me to accomplish now?" Mr. Tick-Tock's voice was metallic and raspy, like it hadn't been used in a long time, and it had an undertone to it that made one want to be careful what they said to him.

King Dedede got over his shock, knowing Mr. Tick-Tock was in his command. King Dedede should have felt glad; Mr. Tick-Tock was his soldier once again. But all the king felt was regret, the part of his heart that spoke to him in the arena spoke to him again, "Dedede, gaze upon your work. You took Kirby's friend and turned him into your own personal servant. Shame. You have a choice; use this poor soul as your slave, or give Kirby his friend back. One of those ways will be helpful to all those involved. Now choose."

King Dedede shifted. Something about that voice, the way it addressed him was unnerving. "Mr. Tick-Tock," King Dedede hesitated on his next command, "I want you to fly to the kitchen and get a Maxim Tomato to give to me. And, also, if the two Chillies Ruth and Danielle are in there, please tell them I know about their relationship."

Mr. Tick-Tock nodded but corrected, "Your wish is my command, but I no longer go by the name of 'Mr. Tick-Tock.' Now I am Master Geartears." With that, Master Geartears turned around and proceeded to lumber out of the throne room.

"Wait! I said to FLY to the kitchen!"

Master Geartears turned around with anger visible in his eyes, "I am no longer a member of the Tick-Tock species that possess that skill, as only a select few inherit this trait."

Now King Dedede was scared a bit. Mr. Tick-Tock- now known as Master Geartears- used to be a perfect flyer. Now nothing remained but memories of who he once was.

As Master Geartears stomped out of the room, King Dedede looked over at where Kirby landed.

Kirby still lay unconscious on the ground, but now Bonkers was hovering above him, gently shaking the ponyan. Upon sensing King Dedede's eyes on his back, Bonkers turned around and scowled darkly at the king. "Bonkers, I'm sorry. This is my fault. Don't worry, we can fix this. We can get Mr. Tick-Tock back to his real form somehow."

Just then, Kirby woke up, and after a moment of remembering what just happened, his eyes started to well up with tears. Kirby had never felt this feeling before, but Meta Knight told tales of it sometimes. This was how Meta Knight felt when Yamikage the ninja left the Galaxy Soldier Army.

Betrayal.

Kirby breathed deeply and curled into a ball, remembering all those fun times he and Mr. Tick-Tock had had, and how there seemed to be nothing Kirby could do to get the real Mr. Tick-Tock back. Bonkers rubbed Kirby's back comfortingly.

King Dedede walked over and kneeled in front of Kirby's small form. "Kirby." Kirby looked up from his hands. "We'll get him back. He's under my command, and we still have Customer Service to guide us. You'll be alright." Kirby nodded slowly and held out his arms to the king, who accepted the hug.

King Dedede broke the hug and told Kirby, "Hey, don't cry. After this is over, I'll have Kabula rebuilt and take you to Vegetable Valley and you can eat all the watermelons you want! How does that sound, hm?" Kirby nodded again, this time smiling a bit. "Yeah, I thought you would like that."

Master Geartears romped back into the room holding a Maxim Tomato in his hand and a grin on his face. "Great King Dedede, I have returned with the object of your request and the task done."

King Dedede raised an eyebrow. "And? How did Ruth and Danielle react?"

Master Geartears chuckled, "Most surprised and intimidated, Great King Dedede."

King Dedede laughed loudly suddenly. "Yeah, I thought as much. I've known about those two for months, about as long as they've been meeting up. I have one more task for you, Master Geartears. I need you to retrieve the serum that you drank back when you were Mr. Tick-Tock."

Master Geartears nodded his assent. "Yes, Great King Dedede. And about the Star Warrior?"

King Dedede glanced back at Kirby. "He's on our side. Don't attack him, there was just a misunderstanding. You can just give him the Maxim Tomato."

Master Geartears nodded again, lumbering over to Kirby to give him the revitalizing fruit and then he turned to leave the room, and he was noticeably faster at walking than before.

Master Geartears seemed to be getting used to his new form.

After Master Geartears' footsteps echoed down the hall to the dungeon far enough, King Dedede muttered, "My GORDO, that guy is really creeping me out. I have to call Customer Service to get the antidote."

King Dedede went back to his throne and pressed the button, and the lights dimmed again along with the screens popping back out to reveal Customer Service's smiling face.

"Hello again, Triple D. How are you?"

"Cut the chat. We have one of my servants getting the serum now, so what do we have to do to get him to turn back, huh?"

"I'll get to that once the servant gets back. So, how did the Dedede Hammer work out? It was specifically made just for you, you know."

King Dedede glanced back at Kirby, who had a small grin on his face. "I'd say it worked perfectly. Definitely worth the deden." Of course he was referring to how Kirby used the hammer to save his life.

"Good, glad to see it worked out for you. Here comes your servant."

Kirby, King Dedede and Bonkers turned to see Master Geartears walking into the room with the serum in hand.

"Thanks, Master Geartears!" King Dedede said as he ran up and took the bottle from him.

"My pleasure, Great King Dedede," Master Geartears replied.

King Dedede dashed up to the teleporter in the middle of the room and set the bottle on its surface, and Kirby pressed the teleportation button.

"Thank you, King Dedede. Here's the antidote I promised you."

The teleporter sparked, and a bright white light filled the room as a piece of paper was teleported to the middle of the space between the top and bottom of the teleporter. The paper fell to the platform of the teleporter, and everyone just stared.

"That will be two thousand deden," Customer Service just about cracked up at his outrageous price; this bird was fun to toy around with.

"What is this?! That's- uh- I mean- That's so much more than what I paid for the serum! That was only five hundred deden!" King Dedede burst out.

"Sorry, Big D. That product cannot be refunded. I'm out!"

The screens blinked off and everyone was left to stare at a wall. Kirby ran up to the teleporter and snatched the paper before it went down with the machine. Kirby gave the paper to King Dedede, who quickly gave it to Bonkers, who gave it to Master Geartears, the one person in the group who could actually read.

Master Geartears hesitated, waiting for an order.

"Well? What are you waiting for? Go on, read it to us!" King Dedede excitedly ordered.

Master Geartears immediately started, "To reverse the serum, the possessed must be goaded by their friends, family, or lovers to return to normal, and think of the best memory they ever shared with the possessed, or a secret they once shared. Of the person(s) goading, the possessed's most trusted and admired must be amidst. It doesn't matter how big the group goading or how many people in that group help, as only one person can trigger the metamorphosis."

"Oh. I get it, I think." King Dedede scratched his neck, "I guess I go first, since I was his first friend. Master Geartears, I order you to return to normal right now. Life was better when you were just normal you, not demon you."

Master Geartears stared blankly, "I do not understand what you imply by 'normal me', Great King Dedede."

"You know, back when you were Mr. Tick-Tock. Back when you used to play with Kirby here, the Star Warrior behind me," King Dedede tried again, a bit worried.

Master Geartears glanced behind King Dedede at Kirby, and looked back to the king confusedly, "I did, but that was before I turned into Master Geartears, my true form. Mr. Tick-Tock is no more."

King Dedede bit his tongue. "Yes he is. Deep inside you, a part of Mr. Tick-Tock still thrives. I would know from experience that a small part of your heart is not a demon bound to my command. That is who we want back."

"The request is invalid, I can't, Great King Dedede."

"Of course you can! Back when you were Mr. Tick-Tock, you could fly. Now you can't because your heart is not good like it was before. You have to try, Master Geartears! Kirby, you try!"

"Poyo! Poyo, poyo poy po, piyo poyo!" Kirby made gestures with his paws. "Poyo, poy piyo po poyo poyo poyo!" Kirby seemed to be telling a story, possibly what all had happened that day. Kirby had small tears dotting the corners of his eyes and he walked up and hugged Master Geartears. "Poyo, po piyo."

"Permission to annihilate, Great King Dedede?"

"Permission denied, don't you see? All he wants is you back, now go on, hug the puff."

Master Geartears slowly put an arm around Kirby, feeling a bit awkward.

"Hey Bonkers, can you go and get the nearest Walkie? Please?" King Dedede requested of the other hammer wielder.

Bonkers nodded and trotted out of the room and to the left, only to stop before he fully made it out of the doorway to pick something up off the ground and trot back in.

"Thank you, Bonkers." King Dedede thanked as Bonkers handed him a very confused microphone monster who had just happened to be passing by before Bonkers picked him up.

King Dedede tapped Kirby on the shoulder, and Kirby turned toward the king who handed him the Walkie. Kirby nodded and whispered into the Walkie, who again translated, "Mr. Tick-Tock, Master Geartears, whoever you are, please go back to being regular you. You were one of my best friends, but now you act like you don't even know me. We were just at Candy Mountain today, and I was showing you my dance and you timed me. Then we went to Food Mountain and King Dedede challenged me to the Gourmet Race, and you were the referee. Then King Dedede brought you to the castle, and I followed on my warpstar. King Dedede sent his airship, Kabula, to get rid of me so he could have you back as a soldier. Kabula defeated me at the same time I defeated her and as I fell, Meta Knight came and dropped me off at the castle. I fought my way through and soon fought King Dedede, who I nearly killed with a Hammer Throw and I healed him, gaining his trust. As a favor in return, I wanted you back, because you are my friend. Please be Mr. Tick-Tock again!"

Master Geartears had a hint of recognition in his eyes once the Walkie finished. "I remember-" Everyone leaned forward, anticipating. "But I don't see what I have to do to return to normal." Everyone fell back and sighed.

A voice from the collapsed door of the throne room called out, "I do."

All eyes were immediately on the owner of the voice, standing in the doorway with his cape folded over himself.

Meta Knight walked in the room and bowed to King Dedede the same way Master Geartears had before.

"I noticed Kirby in a pickle today, and I couldn't help but hear all the explosions and smashes earlier. I figured I could be of assistance, if I may." Meta Knight announced.

"Alright," King Dedede agreed, "We need all the help we can get. Let's see what you can do, Batman."

Meta Knight ignored that last comment as he walked up to Master Geartears.

"Haven't I seen you before?" Master Geartears asked the much smaller being.

"Indeed you have, as you once decreed me your best friend."

King Dedede thought out loud, "That's why it wasn't working! His closest friend wasn't in the room when we tried it!"

Meta Knight ignored King Dedede's outburst because, frankly, the king annoyed Meta Knight sometimes.

Meta Knight sighed as he felt his eyes turn dark blue at what he was about to say. He faced away from King Dedede, Kirby, Bonkers and the Walkie so they wouldn't recognize his eye color and become suspicious. Meta Knight motioned for Master Geartears to bend over so he could whisper in his ear.

Once Meta Knight was finished, Master Geartears' eyes widened and he started to shrink and change color as Meta Knight walked away.

"You did it, Meta Knight! What did you say to him?" King Dedede cheered.

Meta Knight stopped in the doorway and waited until his gaze turned yellow before turning around and answering, "It was his best memory and my most well kept secret." With that, Meta Knight turned and left the room without another word.

"That guy's weird." King Dedede muttered as he looked back down at Master Geartears, who was just completing the metamorphosis.

Master Geartears fell over as the recovery back to Mr. Tick-Tock finished.

Kirby dropped the Walkie, ran over and tried to lift Mr. Tick-Tock off his face to look at him. Due to Kirby's amazing strength, he quickly flipped Mr. Tick-Tock over onto his back.

Mr. Tick-Tock's eyes were closed, but he was breathing. Kirby flicked one of his bells and a loud, majestic 'ding' came out, and Mr. Tick-Tock's eyes slowly opened.


	7. The End

Mr. Tick-Tock was having a hard time seeing, mostly everything was yellow, but there seemed to be three smudges above him. Mr. Tick-Tock blinked and tried to sit up, vision clearing.

Kirby squealed happily and tackled Mr. Tick-Tock in a hug.

Mr. Tick-Tock felt something land on him and grip him tightly. His murky vision cleared completely and he saw Kirby attached to his arm, squeezing it like a vice.

King Dedede and Bonkers high-fived and cheered.

Mr. Tick-Tock had no idea what everyone was so happy about. And how did he get to the throe room? Last thing Mr. Tick-Tock knew was being trapped in the dungeon and forced to drink something by…

Mr. Tick-Tock suddenly jumped up and advanced toward King Dedede, but Kirby, for the second time that day, jumped in front of the king in a defensive position.

"Hold on, Kirby." King Dedede sighed.

Kirby turned around, confused.

"I deserve what Mr. Tick-Tock intends. Before, I truly meant to use him for a malevolent cause, but although I have changed now, I can't change the past." He held out his arms and closed his eyes as he nudged Kirby away with his foot.

Mr. Tick-Tock just stared. But because he had a good heart, and King Dedede was truly sorry for turning Mr. Tick-Tock into a demon, Mr. Tick-Tock merely stepped forward and tapped King Dedede on the shoulder.

King Dedede opened his eyes and saw Mr. Tick-Tock nod and pat his back.

"Wha- you forgive me for turning you into a demon?" The king stuttered.

Mr. Tick-Tock nodded.

King Dedede sighed and relaxed his shoulders, which he hadn't realized were tensed. "Good, glad to have you back, Mr. Tick-Tock. I promise I won't ever do something like that again."

~~~~~~~~~~Epilogue~~~~~~~~~~

"Kirby, hand me that wrench there," King Dedede pointed to the large wrench laying on the sand near where Kabula had been dragged out of the sea.

Kirby picked up the wrench and ran it over to King Dedede and handed it to him. King Dedede thanked him for it and turned the last bolt that needed to be tightened on Kabula.

King Dedede looked behind himself at Kirby and Mr. Tick-Tock.

"Good job, guys! Kabula's all fixed up and ready to fly!" King Dedede announced excitedly, "Onwards to Vegetable Valley!"

Kirby poyoed and Mr. Tick-Tock rang his bells as the trio entered the airship, the beach near Onion Ocean disappearing as King Dedede set the command into Kabula.

Kabula grinned, this time not a sinister grin, more a happy grin that she was repaired and out of the ocean Kabula fell into when Kirby first defeated her.

Inside Kabula was a space bigger than anyone would have thought she would have had from the outside. In the back-most part of Kabula was about a ten by ten by nine foot room fit with brand new attached plush furniture and a wood coffee table. The command room, of course, was through the door on the front most wall of the passenger space.

The command room was where the exit was and had a one hundred eighty degree window with a view of the outside world.

Under Kabula Cookie Country was viewable, as well as the Green Greens fields and the Prism Plains, said to have gorgeous rainbows, especially nearest Cookie Country.

Kabula passed over Big Forest, an extremely huge forest, considering it was almost three fourths the size of Prism Plains. Suddenly, Vegetable Valley sprang into view, along with it the famous crops, noted for their immense size and strong taste.

Kirby jumped up on the control table, which was just a hard metal block with a microphone, and pressed his face up to the window as Kabula began her descent to Vegetable Valley.

Kabula slowed her descent as she got closer to the ground to ensure no internal devices would suddenly malfunction and explode if she hit the ground too hard, but Mr. Tick-Tock did a perfect job on repairing her internal mechanisms so the landing was likewise.

Before the door was entirely open, Kirby was already outside inhaling cantaloupes and watermelons the size of the non-existent Master Geartears.

King Dedede and Mr. Tick-Tock watched from outside Kabula as Kirby ran around eating all the food he could find.

"Mr. Tick-Tock?" King Dedede thought of something.

Mr. Tick-Tock looked over at the king.

"What did Meta Knight tell you to get you to transform? He said something about it being his most well kept secret and your best memory."

Mr. Tick-Tock thought for a moment and realized what it was, even if the memory was a bit hazy.

Mr. Tick-Tock shook his head and continued to look out at the frolicking Kirby.

"You won't tell me?" King Dedede whined, "Oh, fine."

'I could probably get Meta Knight to show me himself,' King Dedede thought to himself mischievously.

The old King Dedede seemed to reappear for a moment as he thought this to himself.

Meanwhile, Kirby found a watermelon the size of Blocky, the stone monster. Kirby tried to inhale the melon, and it only budged slightly.

Oh well. It was a long day for the pink Star Warrior, but it was completely worth it.

The End


End file.
